by Dr. Abid Ahmad, UK
Fasting is the practice of abstaining from food, either completely or partially, for a specified period. It is an ancient practice found in most religions of the world and normally certain days or seasons are designated as times of fasting for their adherents of different religions. Prayer often accompanies fasting to promote spiritual advancement and in Islam it is given specific prominence to draw one nearer to God.
Currently in the UK the fasting period during Ramadan (from sunrise to sunset) is around 18½ hours and it can be very challenging, given the long, summer days and the abundance of food and drink around you at all times. There is also little time to sleep between the break of the fast and the begining of the next fast, which means that people have to go to work with a less than satisfactory night’s sleep. So it does appear difficult to fast for such long hours when you may be facing a long day at work, with colleagues eating and drinking around you. But let us take a moment to reflect and put this in a wider and historical context.
In the time of the founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), fasting took place in the scorching heat of the desert and lack of food made fasting even more challenging. Sometimes all the Holy Prophet had to open his fast, was some dates and milk. For Muslims the example of the Prophet and the early followers of Islam is a testament to their devotion to faith. Through the harshest of challenges they held firm to their faith with the knowledge that by obeying the command of God they would earn His blessings. History bears witness to the truth of their beliefs.
If that weren’t inspiration enough then also look at the millions of people around the world who also hold true to their religion and fast despite facing what I would consider unbearable conditions. Consider the labourers who toil for the sake of survival for many hours each day in the searing heat – such jobs are still prevalent in many countries across the world today and in fact only recently in India and Pakistan, temperatures soared to around 50 degrees. Yet despite this when it comes to faith they fast with true conviction to the best of their abilities. Similarly I am humbled when I think of the the millions of Syrian refugees – and indeed refugees and displaced people everywhere – who have been driven out of their homes and are jobless, they too will also be finding fasting very difficult but they persevere with full trust in God. Despite the terrible hardship, their level of commitment to faith is something that simply does not appear to exist in developed countries and it certainly makes my situation look princely.
When I stop to think about example of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the devoted Muslims who live in such difficult circumstances then I am truly inspired and it makes me think that we should be even more grateful to God for what we have and more eager to do what we can do to help others. Evidently our situation is not as bad when compared to others before us or indeed the conditions of many people today around the globe. When we consider this, our challenge of such a long fast in the presence of food around us and a mild climate seems insignificant. Indeed, fasting in the UK, only gives us a small glimpse of what it must be like for millions of people in poor countries who have to work hard every day, just to have a small amount of food to eat.
If Ramadan is about increasing one’s sense of faith, humanity and obedience to God’s commandments, then it certainly achieves this and if a billion Muslims share these objectives through Ramadan then it is definitely a month of blessings for all.
Dr Abid Ahmad is a UK based Chartered Engineer with a triple Masters. He has worked in the Aerospace industry for 10 years and travelled widely work in charity projects in Europe, Africa and Syria